Surfing Approved as Hawaii’s Newest School Sport

From now on, when Hawaii’s high school students grab their
surfboards and head for Oahu’s North Shore—or other surfing
destinations throughout the state—they might be doing so as the
Kahuku High Red Raiders or the Na Ali’i team from King Kekaulike
High School.

For the first time, perhaps as soon as next spring, public schools
in Hawaii will be allowed to have official surfing teams. Currently,
students are allowed to compete only as members of surfing clubs.

After a lobbying effort by high school students and supporters of
surfing teams that stretched over several years, the Hawaii state board
of education voted unanimously late last month to approve the
sport.

"The interest is definitely there," said Kim Ball, who owns Hi-Tech
Surf Sports on Maui and runs an interscholastic surf competition.
"It’s part of our fabric here."

But the state board’s decision does not come with money, and
it doesn’t resolve some of the issues that kept board members
from allowing official teams in the first place in Hawaii’s
statewide system.

According to Greg Knudsen, a spokesman for the Hawaii Department of
Education, estimates on the cost of having school surfing teams reach
as high as $2.3 million statewide. Such costs might include safety
personnel, and expenses for transportation to practices and
competitions.

"You don’t just run out to the field after school," Mr.
Knudsen said. "It would be a major commute."

In the past, the state attorney general’s office held that the
state education department would not be protected from lawsuits in the
event of an injury, but has since changed that position.

"With proper precautions, they see that it could work," Mr. Knudsen
said. The education department, he added, will now be required to write
regulations for the sport, though no deadline has been set.

Even though Hawaii is considered the birthplace of surfing—or
"wave sliding," as it is known in the Hawaiian language—those who
oppose the approval of surfing as a high school sport have expressed
concerns over schools’ liability if students are
injured.

Some See Perils

The Oahu Interscholastic Association, an athletic league with 24
member schools on the state’s most populated island, did not take
an official position on the issue, though local school athletic
directors are among those most concerned about the dangers of the
sport.

The risks, they say, include shark attacks, rough waves, and
collisions with other surfers.

But Mr. Ball said practice in the water could be limited to twice a
week, thus reducing such concerns. Other practice sessions could be
spent swimming in a pool or working out with weights.

Mr. Ball added that the state board’s decision was just one
hurdle to overcome, and that "we still have a long way to go."

"Now we have to lobby each school individually," he said.

The decision whether to have a surfing team will be up to individual
high schools and leagues. The first step, Mr. Knudsen said, will
probably be to allow students participating in surf clubs to "adopt
their school affiliation."

The question of whether there will be a state surfing championship
also won’t be settled until it’s determined which schools
and leagues have teams.

According to a statement released by the Hawaii High School Athletic
Association, which has 78 public and private high schools as members,
three of the state’s five leagues must sponsor a sport before a
championship competition is held.

In addition, each of the five leagues requires three member schools
to have a team before the league sanctions the sport.

Until then, "it would be premature to discuss an HHSAA state
championship" in surfing, Keith Amemiya, the executive director of the
association, said in the statement.

The most recent state championship approved by the organization was
for girls’ water polo, which had its first such championship just
last month.

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